Tokyo FRUiTS: 20 Years of Street Fashion

From colourful decora to neo-goths and cyber-punks, influential street fashion publication FRUiTS Magazine told stories from Harajuku, the creative centre of Tokyo fashion for over 20 years. Developed in 1997 in response to Harajuku’s bourgeoning experimental street fashion boom, FRUiTS documented the colourful and fun identities of Tokyo’s youth culture.

The social melting pot which spawned the eclecticism of the FRUiTS aesthetic is tied to the innovative town planning policy of hokoten tengoku, meaning ‘pedestrian paradise’, which restricted vehicle access on Sundays and created a hub for young people to socialise. The subcultures which thrived in this environment are mapped in the timeline of FRUiTS’ street photography, tracing the rise and fall of countless trends and influences. Twenty years on, the palette of street fashion evolved to a simpler aesthetic with a more globalised influence, and the FRUiTS print publication concluded.

Tokyo FRUiTS maps the myriad of trends and multiple identities of Tokyo fashion through a selection of FRUiTS street snaps by its creator, photographer Shoichi Aoki, and developed by The Japan Foundation, Sydney.